1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of airborne armament, and in particular to gun mounts which are retractable from a fixed firing position to a remotely located and stowed position within a helicopter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Gun mounts in an aircraft for the firing of nonguided ballistics can be categorized as substantially fixed and orientable only as the aircraft is oriented, or as freely orientable with respect to the aircraft. In the prior art gun mounts were fixed in the aircraft, typically in the wings, and have generally been nonorientable with respect to the aircraft, or orientable only to a very minor extent. Aiming such wing-mounted guns is largely effectuated by orienting the aircraft.
Independently orientable gun mounts for nonguided ballistics are also well known to the art and have been simultaneously developed at least as early as nonorientable gun mounts. An early example of a pivoted gun oriented below the fuselage of an aircraft and tiltable both for aiming and loading is shown in Cooke, "Airplane Gun," U.S. Pat. No. 1,294,240 (1919).
Very early on, however, the need for retraction of any type of gun mount into the body of the aircraft came about in order to minimize air drag or other interference to aerodynamic functions of the aircraft. Prior art examples include Potez, "Disappearing Carriage for Aircraft," U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,011 (1934), wherein a bucket, pivotally mounted below the fuselage of an aircraft, carried a swivel mounted machine gun and accommodations for a gunner.
An example where the gunner remains within the fuselage but the turret is telescoped from the fuselage to orient a gun is seen in Pontius III et al, "Trigger System for Gun Turrets," U.S. Pat. No. 2,406,102 (1946).
Another prior art illustration of a gun which incorporates a multiple axial pivot to rotate the gun to a firing position exterior to the fuselage and thereafter allow orientation of the gun for the purposes of aiming is shown in Growald, "Aircraft Gun Installation," U.S. Pat. No. 2,354,114 (1944).
A telescopic and field orientable rocket launching tube for use in helicopters is described by Marhefka et al, "Telescopic Airborne Launch Tube," U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,360 (1974). The telescopic tube is disposable exterior to the fuselage and helicopter, swivel orientable and retractable within the fuselage after firing. However, the mechanism for first disposing the gun exterior to the fuselage and then orienting the gun is complex and vulnerable to battle damage. Moreover, such a telescopic extension is unsuitable for a heavy rapid firing gun which extension must securely hold and aim the gun under substantial recoil forces.
Structurally stronger gun mounts are known in the art, for example used as tube rocket launchers, such as shown by Tjossem, "Rocket Launcher", U.S. Pat. No. 2,900,874 (1959), but no means is included within the rocket launcher for freely orienting or aiming the launcher, since the launcher is used with guided ballistics.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and mechanism whereby a gun which fires, nonguided ballistics can be enclosed within the fuselage of an aircraft and selectively extended exterior to the aircraft for free orientation for firing while simultaneously maintaining secure mechanical attachment of the gun in a battle-worthy design.